The vet can do no more medicaly for Charlie

[she]

We went to the vets this afternoon for a check up after his hormone implant.Alan the vet said it has not worked.He has tested him for everything medical and he is as well as can be. His plucking is now officially psychological.I have known alan for many years and he has come up with a last hope of stopping his plucking. Alan has 6 greys in a very large indoor/outdoor aviary linked to his house,all are rescues.He has given me the option of letting Charlie stay with him for a couple of weeks to see if he socialises with his birds. he is hoping he will bond with one of his birds and I can then bring them both home,hopefully with a non plucking Charlie.I am very sceptical but have agreed to give it a try.I am hoping that charlie will be so distracted he lets all the pins grow through without pulling them out and then leaves them alone. I have spent the last few hours crying because I am so worried about him,how will he cope without me.Alan thinks he is too imprinted on me and is hoping to encourage independance. I hope I am doing the right thing.Alan will call me at the slightest problem to bring him home.All his birds have been tested for everything and quarantined as has charlie so no risk of any illness .He said he would only do this with a bird he knows.I am so upset and missing him like mad,he would normally be on the back of the couch with me.It is my last hope of curing him.If not he comes home and I accept him as a plucker and treat him acordingly. Alan also said I need the break as i have been nursing and medicating him since January ,trying one thing after another and becoming more and more dispondant as each thing fails.His feather follical infection has all cleared up so no medical reason for his plucking

[Jayd]

Please keep us informed, and bless you.....

[she]

Thank you,It is so hard.I am posting a picture I took the other day to show how bad the problem has become

[Rrrma]

We do so much for our loved ones! I would cry too, I did cry over my Rosie, I almost lost her. I hope this helps him!!!

[Dave007]

"""""Alan has 6 greys in a very large indoor/outdoor aviary linked to his house,all are rescues.He has given me the option of letting Charlie stay with him for a couple of weeks to see if he socialises with his birds. he is hoping he will bond with one of his birds and I can then bring them both home,hopefully with a non plucking Charlie.I am very sceptical but have agreed to give it a try.I am hoping that charlie will be so distracted he lets all the pins grow through without pulling them out and then leaves them alone.""""""

 

I'd like to give a bit of information to you about birds are classified a chronic pluckers--It's really not a good idea to put a chronic plucker in with birds with the intention of changing behavior. Other birds can't alter a chronic plucker's habits concerning plucking. Your bird just may get the idea to try it out things with the other birds and there may be a serious accident which often happens to chronic pluckers who have exposed areas. There even may be an increase in the plucking when and if the bird gets nervous. Usually, the person needs to accept the diagnosis of the bird and provide a different way of dealing with a bird at home that has a problem such as chronic plucking. I doubt that being with other birds will alter that behavior. Be happy that he came back with a clean bill of health but even a clean bill of health won't alter a chronic plucker's habits.

Even avian vets have nothing at their disposal that will change those habits.

[Rrrma]

I don't know Charlie's story, when did his plucking begin?

[Jayd]

You have to do what you feel is right and your heart tells you to do. If we could be there and see first hand, it would be so much easier to give advise, each bird is different as are each Vet. It all depends on what you feel you need to do, my advice, follow your heart..........

[danmcq]

Oh no Sheila, I am so sorry to hear the implant did not help. I know you will make the right decision on this and also that you won't do it without weighing out all the pros and cons.

 

Please know I respect everything you have ever done with Charlie and a Grey could not have a better home to live and love in than yours.

[Luvparrots]

I am so sorry that Charlie isn't doing well. I hope your friend, Alan, can help Charlie. I have a chronic plucking ekkie that I re-homed about a year and a half ago. He has just stopped plucking. He is very set in his ways and I have just being doing everything to make his life as stress free as possible. That's all you can do, the best you can. I pray Charlie will be helped by Alan.

[judygram]

I am so sorry to hear that there is no medical reason for Charlie's plucking but I am afraid I have to agree with Dave about putting him with those other greys for he could be hurt terribly by one of the other birds and then you would never forgive yourself for putting him in that position. I think you should just give Charlie your love and attention and accept him the way he is plucked or not and thank your lucky stars he is healthy otherwise. Like Dave said some greys just become chronic pluckers and there is not much you can do about it. We all know Charlie is a beautiful grey no matter what his outside looks like, he is your grey baby, the love of your life and take him as he is but love him unconditionally as he loves you Shelia.

[rawleyd]

Ohh his little chest just looks awful. =( I hope that he may pick up non plucking habits from the new greys.

good luck

[jessdecutie18]

I hope the plucking stops but if it doesn't I know you will love Charlie, missing feathers or not. Good luck to you guys!

[Birdnut]

So sorry about the disappointing results of the implant. Everyone knows you are doing everything you can for Charlie.

[Keywe]

go with your heart... You never know what could happen though if you don't at least try it... If he doesn't react well, then bring him back home... Nobody knows exactly what will happen until you try it! You are doing it for your baby!

[she]

well, I had a phone call this after noon and it seems Charlie is eating well,quite happy and showing no aggression towards the other greys. It is very early days though and at the first hint of problems he will be home.I never slept last night worrying ,imagining all sorts of horrors but is seems charlie had a better night than me. I have to say I am surprised.As I said in my first post medically charlie is fully fit so I now have to accept it is psycological. I now have to look at how to improve things for him at home. If he takes to one of Alans birds he has said it can come home with charlie. I am very wary of adding another bird to the home of a bird who already has problems but in this case it will be Charlie who decides if and who comes home with him.It is very early days though so I am not jumping the gun.

[Luvparrots]

Good thoughts going Charlie's way. I hope he finds a friend and all will be well again. Fingers crossed.

[she]

Thanks Janet. Early days though. I know its not a conventional way of dealing with this but all the conventional methods have failed.I dont want him getting another infection because of the plucking and becoming ill, so it has to be worth a try,dont know how I will squeeze another grey though lol,hope charlie chooses a small one if he does take a liking to one pmsl

[pearllyn]

,hope charlie chooses a small one if he does take a liking to one pmsl

Lol Sheila - glad you can see the lighter side. Seriously though, if there is a chance this could help, you've got to try it - you'd always wonder "what if" otherwise. We're all rooting for Charlie. x

[judygram]

I am still very skeptical of this situation but if it works out for Charlie let me be the first to say I might be wrong for I truly have his best interests at heart, hope it helps Charlie, keep us updated Shelia.

[Guest jamalbirdbiz]

I think you should trust Alan as he obviously cares about Charlie. A more natural environmnet is what Charlie needs. Let him get away for a while and spend some time with some other greys. He just might make some lifelong friends and it sounds like it is just what the doctor ordered. Birds should live in aviaries and not cages and should be with their own kind whenever possible. Don't let certain people put negative thoughts into your head at this juncture in Charlie's life. He needs you in his corner. He needs your support now more than ever. Just test the waters and report back. We are waiting on pins and needles.

[katana600]

Your willingness to try new approaches based on how it might help from Charlie's point of view and working so hard to overcome your own fears for Charlie are admirable. I know you put him in the hands of someone else who is dedicated and watchful and is working with you to find something that will help. All my best wishes are with you to reach a point of overcoming Charlie's issues regardless of the root cause. You are in our hearts and prayers just as much as Charlie is.

[Kevin]

I feel your pain and concern. I, too now have Dorian who has not yet stopped his plucking. Have you tried anti anxiety medication. I have researched this on the web and there are many drugs that when used have lessened and even stopped chronic pluckers. My vet, recommended amitriptyline for Dorian. It's a small daily dose (1mg) and comes in a variety of flavors. As far as putting Charlie in with other birds here's my advice. I have been raising canaries and Lady Gouldian Finches for over twenty years now. My breeding pairs all cohabitate in a large aviary. When I introduce a new bird that is physically fit all is well, however, when I have had to remove a bird for an illness or injury and then re-introduce the bird once it is well somehow the birds seem to remember the weakened condition of the bird and many times pluck and pick on the bird. I have had some gouldians which were pluckers and the other gouldians would help it pluck out more feathers. Of course, as soon as I recognize what is going on I remove the bird, but I have been to other breeders aviaries and have seen first hand bald headed gouldians with little or no breast feathers. I know that Dorian plucks when he is stressed and upset....He has many toys in his cage to stimulate him, however, this is when he self mutilates his feathers. Greys do not handle stress well and placing him in with other birds would only appear to be a stressful situation for Charlie. I know you are giving this serious thought, but I felt that I should offer some advice from what I have learned over the years. I have to agree with Dave that doing this may cause further and more serious damage. In the end, you must do what you believe to be right and best for Charlie and I know this forum will give you and help you make the best decision for you and Charlie.

 

Best of luck to you...Kevin

[Jayd]

Stay away from the med's, there's to many safe treatments to help plucking, I'm sure the vet will take the baby out if he notices anything out of place.....

[Dave007]

I have to strongly disagree concerning the giving of medications to parrots who are chronic pluckers. I've rarely seen that habit go away because of medications. All medications are sedatives and will work temporarily but not permanently. Even your vet has finally come to the conclusion that the bird's plucking is physological which is just another word used to descibe a chronic plucker. Even your vet said that there's nothing that can be done medically to stop this habit.

A person who suffers from depression may finally be given the right medication or combinations of medications to the problem but the problem comes right back when the person decides to change the dosage or even stop taking the medication. That's chronic depression.

A person may assume that when bad things happen to their bird, the bird starts to pluck. Many of these things that are going on throughout the day may not even be noticable to the person around them. Chronic pluckers will also pluck when wonderful things are happening. A chronic plucker makes no distinsion between good and bad things. A bird may be given his or her favorite treat ( more than usual), eat it and start plucking again even though what has just happened was wonderful. The chronic plucker may stop for a while and begin again as soon as the area being plucked on has some new growth coming in. Or he or she may temporarily stop when distractions are around. The bird has to pay attention to those distractions and may again react by plucking or even nothing will be happening and the bird plucks. I say all of this so that you can understand the difference between chronic and acute plucking.

I've dealt with chronic pluckers before. One of my birds was a chronic plucker but I had the advantage of knowing why it was happening. It took 3 yrs to change that habit. The advantage I had was that I knew the bird was doing this for one major reason--he was alone in a cage and in the house 10 hrs a day, 6 days a wk for 2 yrs. The owners had to work everyday.The cage was a bit too small and he had loads of toys. Because of the lack of room to manuver because of toys, his only target to work on was himself. It wasn't the owner's fault. They knew nothing about handling the problem.

Edited September 6, 2010 by Dave007

[Jayd]

Thank you Dave........